Harnessing the Power of Customer Reviews for your Wedding Business
Reviews, every business wants amazing reviews saying how amazing they are and what an amazing job you did, however even if you did do an amazing job couples don’t always just leave review.
Every so often you get a lovely email from a couple thanking you for an amazing day that makes you smile, and sometimes cry, however not all couples have the time to do this, so instead of waiting and hoping, it is great to have a process to follow up with couples where you can also get feedback and ask for a review and testimonial.
How to get more Reviews and Testimonials for your Wedding Business
Word of mouth and recommendation are fantastic, but reviews are so important too, it helps give couples reassurance and trust in booking you, so it is crucial you have these.
Let’s take a look at how to not only get some great reviews, but also how to use them too.
Reach out to past couples
If asking for reviews is new to you then how about following up with past clients, perhaps it is their first year anniversary coming up, drop them an anniversary email and share your story and view of how great their days was.
From here you can ask them to leave some feedback or a review on your social media, Facebook and Google Places are great ways for couples to add a review directly, just send them a link to where they can do this to make it easy for them.
Make sure to follow up with recent couples
When the wedding day has passed it is nice to follow up with couples thanking them for letting you be part of their amazing day, and also ensuring they were happy with everything you did, but don’t do this right away!
When to ask? Asking is great but asking at the right time is so important, asking a few days after the wedding is likely to be to soon, still on a high from the wedding, jetting off on honeymoon and then catching back up and easing back into work again, you are unlikely to get a response. However 3-4 weeks after their wedding is great time, you can follow up and couples are likely to have more time to sit down and reply.
How to get not only get reviews, but great reviews!
Giving feedback can be difficult, where to start, what do they want to hear, what should I write?!
For some people writing comes naturally and they can quickly send an email back that is great, for many others it can be difficult and take some time, so to make it easier for couples by asking focused questions which can give you great feedback and also some great quotes.
Instead of asking directly you can do it in a conversational manner, questions such as:
- What made you choose us?
- Did we meet or exceed your expectations?
- What would you say to other couples looking at our venue?
Add these into a personal email and this feels more relaxed and informal, if there are some great lines or quotes that come back you can ask for permission if it is ok to share these on your website or wedding brochure.
How to use your testimonials
Getting testimonials is great but make sure you use them and benefit from them, update and share them on your website and wedding brochures. Add a date to your testimonials and make sure you use more recent testimonials as they look better than ones that are a few years old.
Social Media
Share it on your social media, a photo from the wedding with the testimonial added in the caption, this is great for Instagram and Facebook, and can also be added to a story too. Add their quote and thank them for choosing you, and why you enjoyed working with that bride or groom. Easy social media content for your wedding business!
Marketing
Make sure they are added to your marketing brochures, website, and directory platforms you use. A captions or quote from the review can quickly be added here, even if you do this every fews months it is important to do.
Share with your team
Asking for and using the reviews are great, but it is a team effort, from the chef, bar staff to the wedding planner, so share the reviews with your team, let them see what couples are saying, it is a great morale booster and also just nice to know that couples are loving what they do.
Make it a habit
The final point is to make this a common and standard process, standard to follow up a few weeks later, standard to ask for feedback and reviews, standard to then take these reviews and quotes and use them, creating social media posts from them, adding them to your brochures, website and other marketing channels.
The key is to take action and have a standard process in place so you not only get great reviews but also use them too.